LONDON – It was Murderball deja vu.Eight years after Canada last beat the U.S. in wheelchair rugby – in the semifinals at the Athens Paralympics in a scene that closed out Murderball, the Oscar-winning documentary that brought the pulsating sport to the masses – they did it again Saturday.After taking a shocking eight-goal lead in the first quarter and then seeing it frittered away with bad pass after bad pass, the resilient Canadians stole the ball from Chuck Aoki with 39 seconds remaining and then scored with half-a-second left to stun the Americans 50-49 in the semifinals at London.“It's just the biggest high you can ever imagine,” said Canadian veteran Mike Whitehead, who combined with another veteran Garett Hickling to create that decisive turnover. “I can't believe we just did this.“I haven't had this emotion since 2004 in the cross-over [game]. It's the exact same feeling. I've been waiting for years for this.”Canada now will face Australia for the gold medal on Sunday.After that loss in Greece, the Americans, the reigning Paralympic and world champions, hadn't lost in a full international game until this year, when Japan upset them at the Canada Cup in July in Richmond. But the Americans were missing two key players, including Aoki, to injury.Still, there was a crack in the American's invicibility and the Canadians made it a crevice in a stunning first quarter, forcing seven U.S. turnovers to build a 16-8.“The way those turnovers were coming, it was like dessert man, one cookie after another,” said Whitehead, a Windsor, Ont., native. “I couldn't believe it. What's with all these sweets.”“I think they didn't take us seriously,” said Parksville, B.C., product Trevor Hirschfield, who was brilliant again with 11 goals and critical defensive pressure. “They knew we had to fight to the end in (our round-robin) games coming in and they may have underestimated us.“We put our foot on their throat early and put their backs to the wall. But we know they weren't going to give up.”The U.S. cut the lead to five at halftime and to just two, 39-37 after three quarters. Ramping up their defensive intensity, they forced a couple more bad passes by the Canadians and finally tied the game at 49 on a goal by Aoki with 55 seconds remaining.“I don't know if you've ever been in an avalanche, but I used to snowboard and I remember one time somebody yelling 'Avalanche' and it was like 'How do I get out of this thing and how does it stop?” said the always colorful Whitehead. “That's what it felt like. But you've got to come out at one end at some point, right. And we did.”On the inbounds play after Aoki's score, Hirshfield's pass went out of bounds off Whitehead's chair and the Americans had the advantage. But after Aoki pulled received the ball on the American's inbounds pass, Whitehead and Hickling surrounded him. They kept swiping at the ball until forcing it loose, with Hickling picking it up.Aoki immediately fouled him and was sent off for the one-minute penalty. He was followed six seconds later by Chance Sumner after another foul. That left Canada with a two-man advantage to easily run down the clock. Hickling, 41, scored with that half-second remaning, leaving the Americans no chance to come back.“The old boy . . . I don't know what to say,” said Whitehead. “When G comes on the court, the belief factor just goes up another notch.”The Australians, who beat Canada 64-52 in the round-robin, advanced to the gold medal game with a 59-45 semifinal win over Japan.“They got to have some doubt in their mind now,” Whitehead said of the Aussies. “We've got to go in with the same belief.”gkingston@vancouversun.com

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